


breathe through the loss

by scarletstar



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Brothers, CC-2224 | Cody Gets A Hug, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Loss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 23:41:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29908842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarletstar/pseuds/scarletstar
Summary: After a long campaign, Cody finds comfort in his brothers.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & Wooley
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	breathe through the loss

**Author's Note:**

> hey! so, i'm new to star wars, and this is my first work in the fandom, which is very exciting  
> i wrote this whole thing in my head in the shower and was lucky my phone was nearby before i forgot everything. that does mean it was written in maybe 20 minutes, so if you see any mistakes just..keep that in mind  
> enjoy

It takes three days for Cody and his general to finish all of the post-campaign reports. After a four-month-long campaign on three neighbouring planets against another Sepratitist general, most of the flimsiwork Cody's been handling have been casualty and fatality reports, as well as requisition forms for more troopers, to fill newly-empty bunks. 

It's depressing work, but this long into the war, Cody has become...numb, to the deaths of his brothers. And sometimes it's easier to look at his brothers once again reduced to numbers on a datapad than it is to deal with all of the official reports, the Jedi Council and the Senate. That sounds terrible, but, well. He can distance himself from numbers. He cannot distance himself from any feelings he gets when looking at Chancellor Palpatine while the man talks about how  _ unfortunate  _ their losses were but isn't it just so lucky Kamino has another batch of Shinies to ship out?

Ugh. General Kenobi can deal with that. He's got his cloak sleeves to hide his fists in.

So Cody and General Kenobi work together for three days, silently. His general never takes the end of a posting well. He explained, once, that with his connection to the Force, he can feel when someone dies. They lost a lot of men and no matter how good his shielding is, the toll is taxing. Cody is okay with the silence. At least he knows the general is still alive to fill it.

On the third day, after Cody has set down his datapad for the second time to rub at his temples, the general speaks.

"Commander," he says, gently. "I can handle the rest. Go, see your brothers."

Normally, Cody would protest. This, all of it, is part of his job as commander of the 212th, and honestly General Kenobi doesn't get enough rest as it is. Normally. But…

They lost a lot of men. His brothers need him, and he needs his brothers.

So he tries to smile gratefully at his general, but knows it doesn't come out right. He gets up slowly, aching, and says, "Of course, Sir. Get some rest, General." And walks out the door.

Cody makes his way to the barracks, where the majority of the troopers will be. He thinks he'll stay the night; he has his own quarters, but he hasn't slept well since he got back to  _ The Negotiator _ and maybe having his brothers' breathing to listen to will help.

Every trooper he passes on the way to the barracks, he stops with a hand on their arm. Without saying anything, he cups the back of their heads and, if they are willing, tips their foreheads together. They stay like that for a moment, breathing. He does this again and again. 

It takes a long while to reach the barracks, and when he finally does, he's exhausted. He has been, for–forever, maybe. But he's feeling it especially this night cycle.

Nobody looks up when he enters, but they do start paying attention when he begins to do the same as he did with the brothers he passed in the hallways.

Cody goes to everyone still awake, places a gentle hand on the back of their head, presses their foreheads together, and breathes.

They lost a lot of men. It doesn't take him nearly as long to reach the last of his brothers still awake as he wishes it did. He breathes.

Wooly breathes with him. 

When he pulls back, Wooly smiles up at him, a small, tired thing. "Stay?" he asks quietly.

"Of course," Cody replies. The bunks aren't made to fit two, but Wooly solves this by lying almost completely on top of him.

The barracks are dim. When Cody looks out into the room, he can barely make out the bodies two bunks away, but he can hear them. Living, breathing, shifting and shuffling.

Cody closes his eyes, listens to his brothers, what's left of them.

He breathes.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!


End file.
